Live fishing bait and hook holder



July l5 1952 .1. w. DUTY LIVE FISHING BMT AND HooK HOLDER Filed March 25, 1949 A IIL-may Patented July 15, 1952 OFFICE" LIVE FISHING BAITAND noon HOLDER Jacob W. Duty, Warrensville, Pa. Application March 25, 1949, serial No. 83,390

1 Claim.

This ,invention relates to a fishing rig adapted for attachment to a leader and to be used for supporting live bait such asv a minnow on the end of the, leader and for maintaining the live bait in` a Very natural position to simulate the bait as itwillnormally appear while swimming.

More particularly, it is an aim of the present invention to provide a live bait supporting rig on'which a live bait, such as a minnow, can be mounted and to which a hook is connected for positioning the hook adjacent the tail of the bait to eliminate the loss of ,fish due to sh striking the tail of Ythe bait rearwardly of the hook as frequently occurs where livehbait are attached to a shhook by being hooked through the head. Another object of the invention is ,to provide a holder for live bait whichwill prevent the bait fromsliding relatively'tozthe hook and being curved Yby* the hook toassurne an unnatural position and appearance in the Water and a curved position which acts similar to a propeller to cause the bait to spin in an unnatural manner when drawn through the water.

Another object of theinvention is to provide a live'bait holder of extremely simple construction and of suficiently small size that the holder will be vdisposed entirely within the bait, when in an operative position.

"Anotherobject of the invention is to provide a holder which will retain the head of the live bait in a position so that when it is pulled through the water the tendency to assume an unnatural appearance or to spin will be reduced to a minimum.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating preferred embodiments thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational View showing the bait holder in its initialposition being applied to a live bait;

Figure 2 is a similar View showing the holder in a partially applied position;

FigureB is a view similar to Figures 1 and 2 but showing the bait holder in a fully applied position for use and with a hook attached thereto;

Figure 4 is an enlarged side elevational view of the bait holder with the hook attached, and

Figure y5 is a view similar to Figure 4, with the hook removed, and showing another form of the invention.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, and rst with reference to the embodiment thereof 2 f as illustrated in Figures 1 to 4, the live bait holder, as therein disclosed, is designated generally 'I and includes an elongated body portion 8 which is preferablyl formed from a strand of relatively stiff wire but which could be formed of any other suitable material. The terminals of the body member or strand. 8 are turned back and wound about said strand to provide coils or windings 9 at one end of the body 8 and coils or windings I0 adjacentV the opposite end thereof and which form an eye I I atsaid first mentioned end and an eye I2 at the last mentioned end. The eye I I constitutes the forward end of the body 8 and the eye I2 the trailing or rear end thereof. It will be readily obvious that the eyes II and I2 could be formed in any other desired manner at the ends of the body'member 8. I

lAn elongated `tubular member orthe like I?. is slidably mounted on the body member 8 between the coils or windings 9 and I0 which form'sto'ps for limiting the sliding movement of the member I3 on said member 8. In the form of Figures 1 to' 4, the member I3 is formed by two strands of wireor the like, designated I4 and I5, as best illustrated in Figure 4, which are wound in closely coiled convolutions spirally about the rod or body member 8 and which have complementary ends I6 and `I'I, disposed adjacent the eye II Vwhich are not wound on the body 8 and which project in forwardly diverging relationship from the forward end of said tubular member I3. The strands vIII and I5 possess sufcient resiliency so that the forwardly `projecting prongs I6 and I1 which are disposed in forwardly diverging relaf tionship, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 4, will yield into substantially parallel relationship, as

seen in Figure 2, while the holder I is being ap-v plied and will thereafter spring back to their forwardly diverging relationship.

`The live bait holder 1 is particularly adapted foruse with minnows but may be applied to any other live bait sh. To apply the holder 1, after` a leader vI8 has been attached to the forward eye II, an ordinary needle I9, the eye 20 of which has been split to enable the needle eye to engage the trailing eye I2, is interengaged with said eye I2, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. The needle I 9, which constitutes no part of the present invention, is then passed longitudinally through the body of a bait fish such as a minnow 2|, being inserted through the mouth and passing outwardly of the bait.2| near the anal fin, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. 1 is thus drawn longitudinally into the live bait 2I through the mouth and is drawn rearwardly The holder f through the body of the bait sh, as seen in Figure 2 until the rear holder eye I2 is exposed beneath and adjacent the anal fin. When thus drawing the holder 'I longitudinally and rearwardly through the bait 2|, the prongs IE and I1 are caused to yield toward the body 8 to substantially assume the positions of Figure 2 and the tubular portion i3 slides forwardly on the body or rod 8 until its forward motion is stopped by engagement of the prongs I6 and I1 with the wrapping 9, as seen in Figure 2. When the rear holder eye I2 is exposed at the under part and near the tail of the bait 2|, the

needle I9 is disconnected from said eye I2-and the open eye 22 at the forward end of e, hook shank 23 is then attached to said rear holder eye I2. The hook Shank 23 constitutes-a part of one conventional type of iishhook, designated generally 24 having a bifurcated or double hook trailing end, each of which barb hooks is indicated at 25. However, it will be readily apparent thata conventional shhookwith asingle barbed hookv portion could-besused in:lieu ofthe double barb.hook 24 as illustrated. After the. -open eye 22 has been engaged with the :rear holder eyel I2 theleader I:Bispulled outwardly of the mouth.- of the bait iish 2| to cause the body 8' ofthe holder 'I toA slide forwardly in the bait When this.occurs and. they member I3 is displacedlforwardly. vof the .bait-iish 2| withthe body. 8,` its .initial forwardV movement will causev theLprongs IVG-and VI'Lfto 4embed themselveslin thefbait, fish and spring apart. and-assume the PositionsofFiguY 31 :170. thereby anchor the holder` 1 in the baity 2|.v and wi-ththe rear eye |72. of theF holder disposed, as vseen` in FigureB, sof-thatk the hook` shank v2 3 will, be'vcontained'` within the body of.- the bait 2| and the :barb hooks 25. will bedisposedqin close` proximity to and beneath the-bait body 2|- and adjacent the tails; liihen theV iishhook v2|| is thusfdisposed, as-fseen in Figure 3, the holder 'I- in itsapplied and.- operative position of this- .-iigure'V Awill be entirely contained withinthe. body of the bait 2| andv will be anchored-'by vthe prongs and |.1 to prevent it from being displaced forwardly ofythe'bait 2|'. The'prongs- I6 and' I:'I will also function to hold-the; bait 2| in a normal position which-will simulatef the' position of the 'bait shwhile swimming and' will prevent the bait 2| from sliding either'forwardly on' the leader I8.;away f-romY the-'hook 24 or. rearwardly' on` to said'V hook so-,as to have' the tail portion of the bait-y 2| curved by thehook to assume an unnaturalfposition and' wherein the tailv of 'the `bait wouldbecurvedi to actas av propeller or vane forcausing: the bait to revolve` when drawn through the water'irr trolling or retrieving. The holder 'I byY retaining the bait 2"|l in a normal substantially straightY position minimizes the tendency' ofl the bait to.' revolve in thev water and additionally and; primarily functions dto maintai'nthe iishhook 2liV near the. tail' of the bait2`| so that a iishl could notstrike 'and cut off the' rear. half. of the bait 2|' without engaging the'. hook, as; frequently occurs when minnows or..V other live ybait are hooked through the head 4 and used for trolling or retrieving. The forward end of the leader I8 is adapted to be connected to an end of a fishing line 26 by a conventional swivel 2I in the usual manner.

Figure 5 illustrates another embodiment of the live bait holder, designated generally 1a and having a body 8a corresponding to the body or rod 8 including the wrappings 9a and Illa, corresponding to the wrappings 9 and I0, respectively, and which .form th'eeyes. I |.aY and I2a, correspondingto the' eyes II and I2; respectively. The holder 'ia in lieu of the tubular member 'I=3 formed of the coil strands I4 and I5 includes a tubeor sleeve 13a ywhich is slidably supported on the rod or body 8a between the wrappings 9a and Illa andWhich is provided at its forward end with forwardly projecting, forwardly diverging spring prongs I 6a and I'Ia which are suitably secured to or formed integral with the forward end of the sleeve I3a, which is disposed adjacent the wrappingrg. The prongs laand |1a are provided at their forward, free ends with inwardly projectingbarbs-Z to-assist in additionallyanchoring. said prongs. I.6a Vand. I'la in the body ofthe bait.2| -The baitholder Ia is applied in the. same mannerfas the. bait holder 'IA and assumes thesame.. operative. position, as illustrated inFigureB. vA further description ofv the construction, operationand -use of the holder. 'la is considered unnecessary in view of the detailed descriptionA of the operation andV usey of the holder 'I.

Various other modifications andchanges are contemplated .and may.. obviously. be resorted to, without. departingfromthe spirit or scope of the invention as; hereinafter.` dened by the appendedclaim.A I f IV claim. as. my. invention:A

A. holder for liveA fish bait comprising an elonfgated body member. having an. eye at each end.

thereof, a supporting member. reciprocally dis.-

posed' on. said. bodyl member between. said eyes.

JACOB W. DUTY.

, REFERENCES CITED Thefollowing.references; are of record in the file oi this patent:

UNITED STATES PA'IENTSY Number Namev Date 673,087 Rabbeth Apr. 30, 1901 j 849,036 Zimmerman 'Apr. 2, 1907 979,891 Schield Dec. 27, 1910 1,152,698 Bonner Sept. '7, 1915 1,215,938 Jay Feb. 13, 1917 1,503,901 Jones, Jr. Aug. 5, 1924 1,717,376 Y Ellerbroek June 18, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Countryv Date 445,749 Germany June 17, 1927l 

